Paper clip dispenser

ABSTRACT

A paper clip dispenser includes a housing having a base member and a cover member which cooperate to confine a plurality of paper clips in a side-by-side relationship and includes a spring for biasing the clips to a dispensing position. The cover member has an integral manually operable member for pivoting one end of a clip about an abutment and into a slot in the base member thereby projecting the other end of the clip through an exit aperture. The projected clip is ready to be lifted from the dispenser.

[4 1 Jan. 22, 1974 United States Patent [191 Greb et al.

3,119,520 1/1964 Christopher 221/261 X PAPER CLIP DISPENSER [76]Inventors: Kenneth W. Greb; Daniel W. Greb,

both of 18 Stanford Dr., Glenview, EXaml'lerR0beft es 111. 13077Assistant ExaminerThomas E. Kocovsky [22] Filed: Apr. 5, 1972 [21] Appl.No.: 241,224

[57] ABSTRACT A paper clip dispenser includes a housing having a basemember and a cover member which cooperate to confine a plurality ofpaper clips in a side-by-side relationship and includes a spring forbiasing the clips to a dispensing position. The cover member has anintegral manually operable member for pivoting one end of a clip aboutan abutment and into a slot in the base member thereby projecting theother end of the clip through an exit aperture. The projected clip isready to be lifted from the dispenser.

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221/232 X 221/261 X Mandzuk 221/261 X 5 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures3,471,056 10/1969 Kovac...................... 3,422,989 H1969L0ng........ 1293153 2/1919 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The presentinvention relates to a paper clip dispenser and more particularly to adispenser manually operable to project one clip at a time from thedispenser to a position for convenient removal therefrom.

One known paper clip dispenser was formed by a cylindrical magnetichousing and another was formed by a magnetic post which uses magneticforce to project at least one clip upward from the dispenser. Thesedispensers have a disadvantage in that the magnetic force projectsseveral clips upward at the same time. To grasp only one clip fromeither of these dispensers has very little improvement over grasping oneclip from a pile of random clips.

A non-magnetic paper clip dispenser has been developed to project oneclip at a time to a position for convenient removal therefrom. Thisdispenser is disclosed in U. S. Pat. No. 3,422,989, issued on Jan. 2l,1969 to S. L. Long, Jr. Even though this dispenser is believed to be animprovement over the magnetic dispensers, it has a first disadvantage inthat close manufacturing to]- erances would be required to have the clipexit aperture properly aligned with the clip to be dispensed whenassembling the cover member to the base member. A second disadvantage ishaving an abutment extending within the confines of the clip as a pivotfor projecting the clip out of the clip exitaperture. This abutmentinterfers with removing the clip from the dispenser. This dispenser hasa further disadvantage by having an excessive number of parts whichresults in a relatively high manufacturing cost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This paper clip dispenser has a manuallyoperable member for engaging and pivoting one clip from a plurality ofclips supported in a side-by-side relationship until one end of the clipprojects from the dispenser for convenient and efficient removaltherefrom.

Briefly described, the paper clip dispenser of the present invention hasa plastic base member for supporting a plurality of clips in aside-by-side relationship; a leaf spring member for urging'the pluralityof clips toward a dispensing position at an end wall of the base member,and a resilient plastic cover member rigidly assembled to the basemember for confining the clips for movement in a direction of theside-by-side relationship. The cover member has an integral manuallyoperable member for engaging and pivoting one end of the clip, whilebeing biased against the end wall, about an abutment and into a recessformed in the base member until the opposite end of the clip projectsthrough a clip exit aperture. The exit aperture is formed by the covermember and the base member. The operable member will return to itsinitial position by an internal biasing effect of the resilient plasticmaterial when released. The projected clip will remain in the projectedposition by the pressure of the adjacent biased clip. Upon removing theprojected clip, the adjacent clip will be pushed against the end walland ready for repeating the dispensing operation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front perspective view ofthe present invention with a portion of the housing cut away to show theleaf spring and the clip relationship.

FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view showing the construction of the covermember.

FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view showing the construction of the basemember.

FIG. 4 is a partial side elevational view with a portion of the housingcut away to show the construction of the clip dispensing position.

FIG. 5 is a front elevational view showing the operable member in adepressed position and a released position and showing one clipprojecting from the housing.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings andparticularly to FIG. 1, the dispenser includes a housing 10 whichconsists of a base member 12 and a cover member 14, a plurality of clips16 confined in a side-by-side relationship by the base member 12 and thecover member 14, anda leaf spring 18 biasing the plurality of clips 16toward a dispensing position.

Referring now to FIG. 3, the base member 12 has a box shape with twoside walls 20 and 22, and a bottom wall 24 to confine three edges of theclips 16, back end wall 26 and a front end wall 28 to control the clipsin the side-by-side relationship. The front end wall 28 holds one clipin a dispensing position (FIG. 4). A recess 30 projects downward fromthe bottom wall 24 adjacent the front end wall 28 and adjacent side wall22. The recess 30 has a thickness slightly greater than the thickness ofone clip thereby assisting in stripping only one clip from the pluralityof stacked clips 16 during the dispensing operation. The recess 30 formsa curved abutment 32 extending downward from the bottom wall 24. Thefront end wall 28 and the recess 30 form a clip engaging surface 34 freeof obstructions to permit displacing a clip relative to the surface 34with maximum efficiency. The side wall 20 has a groove 36 extendingalong its length and the side wall 22 has a groove 38 extending alongits length for slidably receiving the cover member 14.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the cover member 14 has a track 40 along oneedge for sliding in groove 36 and has a track 42 along another edge forsliding in groove 38 of the base member 12 for removably assembling thecover member 14 to the base member 12. It is to be understood that analternate means for assembling the cover member 14 to the base member 12may be used. One alternate means would be having the cover member 14constructed with flexible tabs which would seat in mating recesses inthe base member 12 as a snap-fit assembly.

With either means of assembly, the cover member 14 may be removed fromthe base member 12 for reloading clips in the dispenser. Reloading maybe accomplished by compressing the spring 18 toward the back end wall 26and inserting the clips as a stack or individually. The spring 18 isthen released to engage and bias the clips toward the front end wall 28.The spring l8 assists in holding the clips in the side-by-siderelationship.

The cover member 14 has a guiding surface 44 extending downward from andalong the length of the cover member 14. The surface 44 provides thefourth wall for guiding the fourth edge of the clips 16. The width ofsurface 44 reduces friction on the stack of clips 16 as they are movedtoward the dispensing position. When the cover member 14 is assembled tothe base member 12, the surface 44 can be spaced slightly away from thetop edge of the clips 16 thereby confining the clips 16 for freemovement in the direction of the side-by-side relationship. The frontend of the cover member 14 has a projection 46 for engaging the frontend wall 28. One side of the projection is an elongated notch 48 whichcooperates with the front end wall 28 to form the clip exit aperture 50.The aperture 50 has a thickness slightly greater than the thickness of aclip to assist in stripping only one clip from the stack of clips 16during the dispensing operation.

An operable member 52 is integrally molded from the cover member 14 forrepeated movements from an initial position as shown in FIG. 2 to adepressed position as shown in FIG. 5. The cover member 14 is formedfrom a resilient material so that the operable member 52 will return tothe initial position by the internal biasing force of the material. Theoperable member 52 has a clip engaging end 54 with a slight curvedrecess 56 to conform with the curved surface of a clip. The clipengaging end 54 has a thickness slightly less than the thickness of aclip to assist in stripping one clip from the stack of clips 16 duringthe dispensing operation. A finger piece 58 is integrally formed from anarm portion 60. The finger piece 58 serves as a control surface fordepressing the operable member 52 and serves as a down stop fora'depressed finger piece. The clip engaging end 54 is flexible relativeto the arm portion 60 to always remain biased against the clip engagingsurface 34 when the cover member 14 is assembled to the base member 12.The biasing effect of the clip engaging end 54 permits the end 54 toremain against the surface 34 during the full depression of the operablemember 52 thereby remaining in engaging with the clip during the clipdispensing operation. This biasing effect also assists in stripping oneclip from the stack of clips 16 during the dispensing operation byengaging the clip against the front end wall 28.

The leaf spring 18 has a plurality of integrally formed leafs havingcircular shaped connecting engs 62. The ends 62 provides a moreconsistant biasing force throughout the length of the biasing effect ofthe spring 18. The end leaf 64 has a flat surface acting as a pusherplate to push the clips 16 in the direction of the side-bysiderelationship toward the dispensing position.

DISPENSING OPERATION Dispensing a single clip 66 from the dispenser willnow be described. Referring to FIG. 5, depressing the operable member 52causes the clip engaging end 54 to engage the top edge of the clip 66near one end 68 and pivots the clip 66 about the abutment 32 by pushingthe end 68 into the recess 30. The other end 70 of clip 66 is therebylifted through the exit aperture 50 to a substantially verticalprojected position. The adjacent biased clip holds the clip 66 in theprojected position. The projected clip 66 may be conveniently removedfrom the dispenser at any time. The projected clip 66 holds the adjacentbiased clip away from the clip engaging end 54 thereby permitting theoperable member 52 to return to the initial position with minimumresistance. However, the projected clip 66 may be removed from thedispenser while the operable member 52 is held depressed. If this isdone, the internal biasing force of the resilient material is sufficientto return the operable member 52 to its initial position even though thenext clip is biased against the clip engaging end 54 by the spring 18.The projected clip 66 may be conveniently removed by lifting the clip 66substantially vertically. Since the clip engaging surface 34 is free ofobstructions, the clip 66 readily slips out from the dispenser.

With the operable member 52 in its initial position and with clip 66removed from the dispenser, the spring 18 advances the stack of clips 16toward the clip dispensing position until the next clip is positonedagainst the clip engaging surface 34. The dispenser is now ready for arepeated operation to project another clip from the dispenser.

What is claimed is:

1. A paper clip dispenser comprising:

a housing supporting a plurality of clips in a side-byside relationship;the housing having a bottom wall and an end wall, the end wall defininga clip engaging surface for the end one of the plurality of clips, thebottom wall having a recess extending downward along the clip engagingsurface; an abutment formed by the recess; the housing having an exitaperture in alignment with the clip engaging surface of the end wall;and

means movable relative to the housing for pivoting the one clip aboutthe abutment for moving one end of the one clip into the recess therebyextending the other end of the one clip through the exit aperturewhereby the one clip may be removed from the dispenser.

2. A paper clip dispenser as defined in claim I further comprising meansfor urging the plurality of clips against the one clip for holding theone clip in the pivoted position.

3. A paper clip dispenser as defined in claim I wherein the movablemeans includes an operable member haing a clip engaging portion of athickness slightly less than the thickness of a clip to assist instripping the one clip from the plurality of clips, the bottom wallrecess having a space slightly greater than the thickness of a clip toassist in stripping the one clip from the plurality of clips, and thehousing exit aperture having a space slightly greater than the thicknessof a clip to assist in stripping the one clip from the plurality ofclips.

4. A paper clip dispenser as defined in claim 1 wherein the movablemeans includes an operable member having a portion biased against theclip engaging surface for maintaining the operable member in engagementwith the clip engaging surface during the pivoting movement of the oneclip.

5. A paper clip dispenser as defined in claim 4 wherein the operablemember is integrally formed from

1. A paper clip dispenser comprising: a housing supporting a plurality of clips in a side-by-side relationship; the housing having a bottom wall and an end wall, the end wall defining a clip engaging surface for the end one of the plurality oF clips, the bottom wall having a recess extending downward along the clip engaging surface; an abutment formed by the recess; the housing having an exit aperture in alignment with the clip engaging surface of the end wall; and means movable relative to the housing for pivoting the one clip about the abutment for moving one end of the one clip into the recess thereby extending the other end of the one clip through the exit aperture whereby the one clip may be removed from the dispenser.
 2. A paper clip dispenser as defined in claim 1 further comprising means for urging the plurality of clips against the one clip for holding the one clip in the pivoted position.
 3. A paper clip dispenser as defined in claim 1 wherein the movable means includes an operable member haing a clip engaging portion of a thickness slightly less than the thickness of a clip to assist in stripping the one clip from the plurality of clips, the bottom wall recess having a space slightly greater than the thickness of a clip to assist in stripping the one clip from the plurality of clips, and the housing exit aperture having a space slightly greater than the thickness of a clip to assist in stripping the one clip from the plurality of clips.
 4. A paper clip dispenser as defined in claim 1 wherein the movable means includes an operable member having a portion biased against the clip engaging surface for maintaining the operable member in engagement with the clip engaging surface during the pivoting movement of the one clip.
 5. A paper clip dispenser as defined in claim 4 wherein the operable member is integrally formed from the housing. 